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AUTHOR: The authorship of the Book of Jeremiah is an accomplished fact. Internally his name is quoted 131 times and externally, the book is attributed to Jeremiah [ Dan 9:2 - "In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, as the word of the Lord given to the prophet Jeremiah, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years". ] and [ Ed 1:1 - "In the first year of the reign of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation and proclaim it throughout all his kingdom, these terms". ].
ORIGIN OF THE NAME: It originates from the Hebrew "Yirmeyahu", with the possibility of having been derived from two elements, from "Yarimyah", which literally means "the Lord exalts, Jehovah exalts ”, or through “Yarum-yah”, which means “the Lord is exalted, Jehovah is exalted”.
THEMATIC: Jeremiah ministered in Jerusalem for approximately 40 years (627-586 BC) and in Egypt. The theme of the book is cleansing judgment. God would judge the chosen people on account of their rejection of the divine Law, as well as on account of their adamant refusal of correction by the prophets. The fate predicted for an apostate nation in Deuteronomy was inevitable. The prophet Jeremiah was considered a traitor to his nation; and the people, the nobles, and the king alternately tried to kill him. Among his dooming prophecies, Jeremiah also had messages of hope for the nation. He announced that a new covenant would be established to replace the Mosaic one, made at Sinai, referred to the Messiah as the "righteous branch", "branch of righteousness" who will reign on the throne of David and execute judgment and justice on earth [ Jer 23:5-6
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5- "The days will come," declares the Lord, "when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a king who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.
6- In his days Judah will be saved, Israel will live in safety, and this is the name by which he will be called: The Lord is Our Righteousness. ] [ Jer 33:14 to 17
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14-" 'The days will come,' declares the Lord, 'when I will fulfill the promise I made to the community of Israel and to the community of Judah.
15-" 'In those days and at that time I will make to sprout a righteous Branch from the line of David; he will do what is just and right in the land.
16- In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety, and this is the name by which she will be called: The Lord is Our Righteousness'.
17-"For thus says the Lord: 'David will never fail to have a descendant to sit on the throne of Israel, ]. The New Testament contains numerous references to Jeremiah.
COMPILATION: No principle is observed in the organization of Jeremiah's prophecies. The oracles under the last five kings of Judah do not follow a chronological line. The order of the chapters in the Hebrew differs from the order of the Septuagint Version, that some omissions of mere importance are observed. This suggests a distinct editorial revision, Jeremiah would have dictated the prophecies and Baruch wrote them [ Jer 36:4 - "Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah to write in the scroll, as Jeremiah dictated all the words that the Lord had spoken to him". ]. The book was probably compiled between 626/586 BC. It consists of 52 chapters and 1364 verses.
CHRONOLOGY (ESTIMATED) | |
640 BC | Josiah becomes king of Judah |
626 B.C. | Jeremiah is called to prophesy |
612 BC | Assyria is defeated by the Babylonians and the Medes |
609 BC | Begins Jehoahaz's reign in Judah |
608 BC | Begins Jehoiakim's reign in Judah |
605 BC | Starts Nebuchadnezzar's reign in Babylon |
598 BC | Jehoiachin becomes king of Judah |
598 BC | Zedekiah becomes the last king of Judah |
586 BC | Jerusalem succumbs to the Babylonians |
585 B.C. | Jeremiah is taken to Egypt |